The Amazing Race 8 Season Wrap-up

Well, I still remember Phil Keoghan on THE EARLY SHOW saying that season 8 was going to be a team of 4 people from the same family. “WTF?” I thought to myself. “How the hell is this going to work?”

So, premiere night approached with me and my doubts, but then as the minutes counted down to 9:00PM, my excitement and love for THE AMAZING RACE just all came back. Seeing all the teams with Phil there with his arm raised up ready to say “GO!” just reminded me why I love this show so much.

Yeah, they only stayed in the Americas, but have you ever been to Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, Canada, Panama, AND Costa Rica in 25 days? Let alone seeing the world’s biggest office chair or the old lady’s shoe house or even the Tree of Utah. I wouldn’t mind traveling their same route.

And as the RACE progressed, I enjoyed myself more and more and despite probably having half of TAR fans quitting the show (or at least this season), I continued to love the season. The family aspect definitely added a different dynamic to the whole thing, and it was fun seeing 40 people (!!!) running around doing ROAD BLOCKS and DETOURS…

Carissa Gaghan was a great little girl, she competed with the best of the ’em, and no doubt she and her parents and brother would have made it far had it not been for the stupid red coffee bean. Bill and Tammy could have definitely ran the regular RACE themselves as well. Great family.

The Paolos, whom I completely hated at first, rapidly grew to be one of my favorite families. Their in-fighting reminds me of TAR3’s Teri and Ian, though Teri and Ian were never as harsh as the Paolos. Still, they were tough competitors too, they made first a couple of times.

The Rogers were an early favorite of mine, I wish they made it further. The Blacks didn’t have the time to make themselves known, while the Aiellos were a fun family while they lasted.

The Godlewskis are pretty funny when they’re not fighting, actually even when they’re fighting they’re funny. They could’ve been the first all-female team to win the RACE. The Bransens were good competitors as well, though what really gets me about them is the daughters and their disrespect for their dad, at least lack of respect.

The Weavers… I really don’t know. There are times when you want to sympathize with them (like at the Finish Line last night) but then there are times when you want to tell them to shut their Big Mac holes. Joking around and name calling is all part of the RACE, but the way they presented their “Christian values” and being “above” all the things the other teams were doing when they were doing those things themselves just showed their major hypocrisy. Still, I think they are just totally oblivious, or were oblivious on the RACE. I guess now, they know what they look like.

And of course the Linzes. I think they rank at the top of my favorite teams list behind Kris & Jon (TAR6), John Vito & Jill and Teri & Ian (TAR3). That is the way you run THE AMAZING RACE. Have fun, be strong, be competitive, and just enjoy everything. I think they are the only team that has won THE AMAZING RACE that I am completely 100% for.

So THE AMAZING RACE 8: FAMILY EDITION is over, and THE AMAZING RACE 9 is ready to premiere after the Olympics in February. I love me my TAR8, but bring on the regular RACE!

So, here are the season rankings, which always seem to change every time. I guess I reevaluate the seasons.